Slumgullion

As noted in a Mercury Studios post on Facebook yesterday, Have You Got It Yet? - The Story Of Syd Barrett And Pink Floyd will be available in DVD and Blu-ray formats on July 19. The documentary was directed by filmmaker Roddy Bogawa and album cover artist Storm Thorgerson, and features interviews with Barrett’s bandmates David Gilmour, Nick Mason, and Roger Waters, along with musicians Pete Townshend and Graham Coxon.

Rhino Fest 2024 opens tomorrow night with a performance of Full Moon Vaudeville and will showcase several performances, primarily at Facility Theatre and Chicago Dramatists, through June 30. See the official Rhino Fest website for the full schedule.

Paul Weller’s new full-length album 66, featuring the guitar-driven single “Soul Wandering,” came out today. Paul Weller + Special Guests, his first US and Canada tour in seven years, starts in September. He’ll be at The Vic Theatre on Chicago’s north side on September 15. Other cities in September will include Brooklyn, Boston, Washington D.C., Minneapolis, San Francisco, Toronto, and Vancouver.

Thalia Hall in Chicago has the honor of being the first stop on the Ladytron 2024 US Tour. The Liverpool electronic pop band, now a trio comprising Helen Marnie, Daniel Hunt, and Mira Aroyo, will likely showcase songs from its late 2023 album Time’s Arrow at the May 29 concert. DJ Hiroko Yamamura will serve as opening act.

More than 110 acts will be involved when International Pop Overthrow - Liverpool takes place from this Sunday, May 26 through next Sunday, June 2 at the Cavern Club and Cavern Pub. Those of us who don’t live in Liverpool and don’t currently have the means to travel there can get a taste of the action by checking out the official IPO website. CFO/Founder David Bash has created links to just about every act involved. Take a spin through the schedule and maybe you’ll discover a new act to follow. As I mentioned when covering IPO - Chicago, so many of these acts have Bandcamp pages where you can listen to, and buy their music. 

In related news, The Cavern Club in Liverpool has decided to reward David Bash for 20 years of bringing IPO to its Club and Pub stages by inducting him and the festival onto The Cavern Wall of Fame. The induction will take place on Tuesday, May 28.

The Beaches, Friko, Local H, School Of Rock, and Lucky Boys Confusion are among the numerous acts that will perform at the Taste Of Randolph festival on the weekend of June 14 –16. The event will be held on Randolph Street, between Peoria and Racine. 

English musician Matt Johnson will bring his band The The to North America for the first time 25 years to perform several of concerts. An October 25 show at The Salt Shed in Chicago will be part of radio station WXRT’s Fall Jam Series. The The was particularly noteworthy for the singles “This Is The Day” and “Uncertain Smile.”

The Zombies’ second annual Begin Here Festival will take place in St. Albans, UK on the weekend of November 10 – 12. The event will feature The Zombies Art Gallery; Record Signing; Drum Workshop; The Zombies Tour Of St. Albans; Sunday Music Brunch; a screening of the Hung Up On A Dream documentary; Colin Blunstone: One Year Show; The Zombies Show; Battle Of The Bands: Finale Show; and Question And Answer panels at the St. Albans Museum. Tier packages are available in Platinum for £250 and Gold for £150.

The Harris Theater and Chicago-based independent label Delmark Records will join forces for Red Hot And Blues Women In Chicago on Wednesday, June 5. The pre-event to the Chicago Blues Festival promises to “bring legendary Chicago Blues venue Blue Chicago onto the Harris Theater stage in song and visual.” The focus will be on women vocalists and musicians, such as Sheryl Youngblood, Melody Angel, Demetria Taylor, Carlise Guy, Sharon Lewis and Joanna Connor. 

Phil Angotti And Friends (Casey McDonough, John San Juan, Tom Ryan and Blair Holmes) will return to City Winery Chicago for another Beatle Brunch on June 16. This time out, they’ll play the Beatles ‘65 album (plus other songs from 1965) and a mini set of McCartney songs for Paul’s birthday.

Steve Wynn from The Dream Syndicate has accomplished a long-time goal of writing a book, and it’s due out from Jawbone Press around August 25. Wynn describes I Wouldn't Say It If It Wasn't True as “a memoir of a life of music that begins on the streets of LA and continues along the highways and byways of rock recording and touring with The Dream Syndicate.” Autographed copies are available for pre-order on Wynn’s Bandcamp page, which also mention he has a new solo album title Make It Right coming out around the same time as his book. 

The Miki Berenyi Trio, featuring the Lush vocalist-guitarist, along with Siouxsie And The Banshees members Lol Tolhurst and Budgie (Tolhurst was also a member of The Cure) will kick off a mini-tour of the United States on May 29 in Los Angeles. There will also be stops in McGill, NV; San Francisco; Portland, OR; Seattle; Denver; and New York, NY. The Chicago date is on June 7 at Bottom Lounge. It will be interesting to see if Berenyi brings copies her memoir Fingers Crossed - How Music Saved Me From Success to sell on her American tour. 

Bonnie Koloc, a genuine icon of Chicago’s folk scene over several decades, will share the stage with journalist Mark Guarino at Hideout Inn on June 8. Along with an extended interview regarding her career and noted collaborations, Koloc will perform a few songs with singer-guitarist Steve Dawson. Guarino’s book Country and Midwestern: Chicago in the History of Country Music and the Folk Revival was named as “Book of the Year” by the Illinois State Historical Society this past weekend in Springfield.

Blondie founding member Chris Stein has a memoir titled Under A Rock coming out on June 11, and it’s available to pre-order from various sites. The book, which features a forward by Debbie Harry, is described by MacMillan Publishers as a “a plunge into the moments that made a giant 1980’s artistic sensation.”

The PRAVDAFEST 40 anniversary event will be held on Saturday, August 31 at FitzGerald’s in Berwyn, IL. Pravda Records is Chicago’s longest running independent label, so the lineup for PRAVDAFEST 40 is impressive. Nathan Graham; Steve Dawson; The Handcuffs; Ivan Julian with Nick Tremulis; Sunshine Boys; The Service; The Slugs; Susan Voelz; Allen Hill; Brian Krumm And His Barfly Friends; and Thrift Store Halo will be among the performers.

The Sunshine Boys have a show coming up tomorrow (Saturday) at Gman Tavern on Chicago’s north side. Gerald Dowd will be on drums while original drummer (now author) Freda Love Smith will help out on tambourine. Sunshine Boys will be the opening act that night for The Last Afternoons—led by Rich Sparks and Brett Nevue—at their record release show. 

An original concept recording of Ladyship The Musical has an official release date of July 12. It’s based on the true story of how England shipped women convicts to Australia from 1789 to 1841. The music and lyrics were composed by Linda Good and Laura Good. The sisters first started performing as The Good Twins on the Chicago club scene, and later formed the alt rock band The Twigs.

The Arlington Heights Memorial Library is hosting a 21-and-older Women Up Front Vinyl Listening Party at the Empty Corner venue at 214 East Grove Street in Arlington Heights on June 6. Guests are invited to bring records by their favorite women vocalists, musicians, or songwriters to play, as well as a beverage. Snacks will be provided.

English ska band Madness kicked off its C’est La Vie In America Tour this past Wednesday in Seattle, and will move on to dates in the Oakland, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, New York, and Boston.

The Songs To Learn And Sing 2024 - The Very Best Of Echo And The Bunnymen tour has been racking up sold out shows across the U.S.A., and there’s good reason to believe the one scheduled at The Riviera Theatre in Chicago this Sunday will go the same route. Those who want to sing along on classic new wave material such as “Lips Like Sugar,” “Rescue,” “The Back Of Love,” and “Do It Clean” should purchase their tickets soon. Other stops on the tour include Philadelphia, Boston, Detroit, Denver, and San Francisco.

Congratulations to Chicago-based band The Second Summer on their debut album undertow being released by Kool Kat Musik on CD this past Friday. It’s an impressive achievement, considering the indie label is widely known for its expertise in choosing power pop acts. You can also find undertow on group’s Bandcamp page. The Second Summer performed at Montrose Saloon as part of the recent International Pop Overthrow - Chicago 2024, will be back at that venue on June 29.

Graham Nash’s North American Fall Tour will include stops in Denver, Omaha, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Boston, Quebec City, Ottawa, and a pair of shows at Cahn Auditorium in Evanston, IL. The official Graham Nash Facebook page recently announced Judy Collins will be joining Nash for a few of those concerts.

Tickets are now on sale for the double bill of Material Issue and Tamar Berk with a special appearance by Starball at the Chicago north side venue Lincoln Hall on September 28.

 

Chicago: Home Of House, an exhibit honoring the city’s pivotal role in widespread success of house music, opened last week on Navy Pier, and will run through the end of October. As noted by Chicago Sun-Times reporter Erica Thompson, this year brings the 40th anniversary of the genre.

This year’s Ravinia Festival in Highland Park kicks off in less than a month with the Return of The Flock concert taking place on June 7. The event will be of special interest to longtime followers of the Chicago scene, as one of the area’s more adventurous bands reunites behind original members violinist Jerry Goodman and bassist Jerry Smith. Multi-instrumentalist Howard Levy, who won a pair of Grammy Awards as a founding member of Bela Fleck & the Flecktones, will be joining them onstage.

FitzGerald’s Outdoors, a summer series the Berwyn music venue describes as “large outdoor concerts with a festival style setup,” is getting off to an impressive start this year. The Big Star Quintet featuring original member Jody Stephens; Jon Auer from The Posies; Chris Stamey from The dB’s; and Pat Sansone and John Stirratt from Wilco will perform on Saturday, July 13. On the next day, X, the band that rose from the Los Angeles punk scene to become legends, will perform as part of its THE END IS NEAR: Smoke & Fiction Tour. Considering Chicago’s indie rock band The Handcuffs have an On The Patio gig on July 12, that’s three straight nights of rock and roll fun taking place at FitzGerald’s.

Tickets are now on sale today for the Sons Of The Silent Age - The Cracked Actor Cabaret at City Winery Chicago on July 29. Sons Of The Silent Age also have a June 22 concert coming up at Summeriest in Milwaukee, WI.

Purple Reign - A Weekend Celebration For His Royal Badness will feature A Birthday Celebration on June 7 at Joe’s Bar, and A Love Bizarre on June 8 at Logan Square Auditorium. Both locations are in Chicago, and will feature DJs spinning Prince music. Admission is free with an HIV test in advance or on the night of the show. See the Eventbrite listing for full information.